This beautifully bound and typeset book, complete with over 90 exquisite reproductions of Chinese paintings, drawings and calligraphy, is French scholar Jacques Dar’s established version of a recovered classic of Chinese literature. Abandoning the pursuit of awards and acclaim in order to live and write in freedom and tranquility, the renowned 17th-century man of letters Li Yu wrote these diaries in secret. A sort of manual for living well, they are brimming with recipes for transforming the mundane into sources of wonder and creativity. In writing them, Li Yu drew upon wisdom from ancient Chinese sources such as the Shinto religion, as well as his own unique reflections. Each chapter is dedicated to a particular theme: the pleasures of the home, the garden, nature, medicine, gastronomy, nutrition, personal hygiene, and lovemaking. A final treatise on enjoying the simple things reminds us that we have all have the power to seize the moment and transform our lives. In addition, these diaries provide a valuable key to understanding the preoccupations and pleasures of a lost world.